There are questions about which city Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz calls home, after it emerged that a property he owns in Arizona is listed as his 'primary residence.'
The 4,400-square-foot Arizona home is listed in the Maricopa County Assessor's Office records as his primary residence, making him eligible for hundreds of dollars' worth of U.S. property tax credits.
The Arizona assessor's office said that its own officials, and not Katz, designated the Arizona home as his primary residence.
And according to a spokesperson with Katz's office, the mayor also did not know the home was classified as his primary residence.
"The title company has made a mistake reporting to the assessor's office," a statement from the mayor's office said, explaining that Katz had declared to Arizona officials that he is a Canadian citizen.
The mayor was unable to comment to CTV, his office said, as he was on holiday with his family Tuesday.
If the Scottsdale home Katz bought in 2012, was his primary residence, he would be entitled to a $600 tax credit in the United States.
However, his primary residence is a nearly $1-million home in Winnipeg's Tuxedo neighbourhood. That means he's entitled to a $700 tax credit in Canada.
The property in Arizona had an assessed cash value of $934,500 in 2014.
An official with the assessor's office said that, even though the primary residence declaration may have been made in error, Katz would still have to refund any U.S. tax credits because the Scottsdale home is not his actual primary residence.
The revelations about Katz's Arizona home are "really quite disturbing," Winnipeg City Coun. Jenny Gerbasi said Tuesday.
"I think the public is disappointed and concerned about the ethical behaviour they've seen at city hall over the last 10 years," Gerbasi told CTV Winnipeg.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg's Jeff Keele
